Typewriting machine



May 21, 1929. 1; A. B. SMITH TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheetl #ive/777A' MMM Lag/MW May 21, 1929. J.-A. B. SMITH TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 e @my from the platen. This handle (which is ad Patented May 2l, 1929.

UNITED STATES' 1,713,563 PATENT OFFICE- J ESSE A. B. SMITH, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB TO UNDEBWOOD ELLIOTT FISHER COMPANY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYIPEWBITING MACHINE Application led September 24, 1928. Serial No. 664,421.

This invention relates to means for typing upon long rolls or webs of paper, from which it is the usual practice to cut off sections or forms as they are typed one by one.

In certain classes of work, the web is led around the revoluble platen of a front-strike typewriter, and as it is typed it advances upwardly from the platenv to typing position.

In many instances only oneor two lines are v typed upon each form, while the length of the form is relatively great, making it necJessary to advance the web a great distance for each form.

`According to the p esent invention, a handle is provided which, by its operation, returns the carriage to begin a new line of typing, and also releases the work-feeding rolls ditional to the carriage-returning handle normally provided at the left hand) is operated by the right hand; and, while the rolls are so held released, the operator with his left hand pulls the released web upwardly around `the platen between lateral ,guides which form a chute, this operation of pulling the web continuing until the web is brought to position to be severed and the next blank line or space to be typed is brought into register with a line-gage usually provided at the front of the platen. The operatiom'therefore, is simple, and the operatormerely uses his right hand to return the carriage, and while he holds his right hand in efectiveposition he uses his left hand to draw up the sheet`rapidly f ,s i

In many instances only one or two lines are typed on each section or form, whereas the length ofnthe section may be relatively great, making it necessary to pull the web upwardly a great distance for each section, and .as the usual practice was to return the carriage by the left hand pushing against the line-spacing lever, and then grasp the top of the web by the left hand, ready to pull the web upwardly when the' right hand has pushed the 'feed-roll-control lever downwardly to release the web, the great distance the web has to be pulled upwardly adds the length vof time for that operation to be performed to the enforced wait for the rolls to be released first before the operation can betot pe as many forms or sections as possible wit 1n a given tune, it can be perceived that means to reduce the time required for the discharge of each form enlarges the capacity ofposition, by the movement of her right hand -1n pushlng the lever downwardly to cast off the rolls suiciently far to release the web and allow it to be pulled upwardly by the left hand during the operations of returning the carriage by one hand and discharging the typed section with the other hand. Vhen the feed-roll-release lever has` been pushed downwardly to its lowermost position, the rolls become locked off of the platen, and will not be automatically returned to the platen and hold the web; therefore, the typist has to y support the web with one hand and push the lever upwardly from its lowermost position with the other hand, to allow the rolls to be returned after the web has been pulled up, and hold the web in its position. A

It is the object of t-he present invention to avoid these delays, by providing means by which the typist by one horizontal sweeping lmovement of the hand towards the right returns the carriage to its initial letter-space position for the succeeding section, and concurrently casts off the rolls just sufliciently UJI) to release the web, and\with the left hand pulls the web upwardly /in the meantime to the marginal line withthe web trued, with the writing line on said section opposite the printing line, and the feed-rolls automatically returned to the platen and holding the web, and allowing it to be drawn by the left hand across the knife, which severs the typed section from the web, and the writing line of said section opposite the printing line, ready for the typing operation to begin thereon. Thus, there is only one movementof the right 4hand, and it effects-the concurrent releasing of the web and returning of the carriage, and

only one movement of the left hand, which movement effects both the upward pull of the web and its 'truing, with the writing line oppositethe printing. line, and said movements of both hands and said operations are concurrent. There is no waiting of one hand upon the movement ofthe other hand, andno Waiting of one operation upon another, and consequently there is no loss of time between the operations; and the result 1s that the speed of the machine is greatly accelerated.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of an Underwood typewriter carriage showing the invention attached thereto.

spacing mechanism.

Figure 7 is a dia rammatic view of a sample work-sheet bearing printed 1nvo1ce forms thereon.

l lever.

Referring to the drawings, a platen 10 is mounted on a shaft 11 ournaled in a carriage 12. Mounted on the left end of the carriage 12 'maybe a line-spacing mechanism shown in Figures 1 and 6 which includes a pawl 13 on a slide 14, which is operated by the usual carriage-returning and line-spacing lever 91, having a finger-piece 92. The pawl 13 engages with alratchet wheel 15 that is fastened to the platen-shaft 11. A detent release-lever 16, which" has a finger-piece 17, is loosely mounted on the platen-shaft 11. A detent lever 18 has a roller 19 which is held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 15 by a spring 20. The usual mechanism may be employed to determine the number of line-spaces the platen 10 is to be rotated by a single thrust of the line-spacing web 85. underneath and around the platen 10, a. rear paper-table23 may be used cooperating with the feed-rolls 21 and 22.

A mechanism for controllingthe feed-rolls 2 1 and 22, as shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclus1ve, may be mounted on the carriage 12,

.comprising a rod 24 supported below the platen 10, upon which arms 25 and 26 are pivoted, and carry at their ends shafts 27 and 28, which support the feed-rolls 21 and 22.. The arms25 and 26 are each provided with projections or tappets 29 arranged to embrace a releasing roc -shaft 30 mounted to turn about the supporting rod 24`in brackets 31. Shaft 30-is provided with fiattened For guiding and feeding the work-- or cammed portions 32 arranged to engage tappets 29 to release the feed-rolls. Thus, when the shaft 30 is in the position at Figure 5, the rolls 21 and 22 will co-act with the platen 10. If, however, the rock-shaft 30 is turned, as shown in Figure 3, the tappets 29 will be spread apart, and the feed-rolls 21 and 22 will be thrown off from the platen, thereby releasing the work-Web 85. In order to turn the rock-shaft 30, acrank-arm 33 is connected with the lower end of link 34, the upper end of which is connected by a pin 35 with another crank-arm 36, upon a crankshaft 37. Crank-shaft 37 may be supported in any suitable manner upon the carriagefraln'e 12, and has atits outer end an arm 38 having a handle or linger-piece 39. When the finger-piece 39 is in its upper position, shown in Figures 2 and 5, the feed-rolls 2l and 22 ride on platen 10 5 but when the ngerpiece 39 is in its lowest position, the feedrolls 21 and 22 are oil' from the platen, as shown in Figure 3. Springs 40 hold` the tappets 29 against the shaft 30 when the latter has been turned. lf the rock-.shaft 30 is only slightly rocked, the feed-rolls 21 and22 will be moved slightly away from the platen, and will be automatically returned to the platen by the'springs 40 acting through the tappets 29 upon the edges of the flattened portions 32 (see Figure 4). p

A right-hand carriage-returning lever 42, having a finger-piece 43, which projects` forwardly from the carriage towards the operator, i-s pivotally mounted by means of a shoulder-screw44 upon a plate 45, which projects inwardly from the right 'front corner of the carriage-frame 12, which may have the usual lug 59. The projecting plate 45 may be fastened to the carriage-frame 12 by screws 46,

and plate 45 may have an arm 58-thereon to which is anchored springs 56, to assist in holding the lever 42 in its eXtreme left position against one of the stop-pins 57 on the projecting plate 45. The other stop-pin 57 limits the swing of the lever 42. The lever 42 has an elevated port-ion 60 to which is pivoted at 47 one end of a horizontal link 48, the other end being pivoted at 49 to' a crank arm 50. The latter is fixed upon one end of a shaft 51; and an arm 52 is mounted upon the other end. Y Shaft 51 may be supported by bracket 53. The pivoted connections 47 and 49 are loose enough to allow the regular caseshifting operation to take place. Pivoted to the free end of crank arm 52 is a vertical link 54, which has a slot 55. The pin 35 slidingly engages in slot 55, thereby providing a loose connection, so asnot to be interfered with by the usual operation fof releasing thefeed-rolls 21 and-22 by lin er-piecef39, etc.

Mounted on the rear o the paper-table 23, near the side edges, are brackets 61 which support the transverse paper-gage shaft 62 (see Figures 1 and 5) Right and left paper.-

on the rear paper-table 23. The bodies 64 of the paper-gages 63 extend backwardly and downwardly around the upper edge of the rear paper-table 23, and have formed thereon ears 67 which are hinged by suitable means to `slides 68, the latter being movably mounted on shaft 62. This connection permits the paper-gages 63 to be adjusted transversely of the rear paper-table 23. J ournaled in the ends of carriage 12 may be a transverse tablesupporting shaft 69. Movably mounted near ythe ends of the shaft 69 are table-brackets 70 which carry a transverse table-bar 76. .The upper end of the table-brackets 70 have slots 71 formed therein to engage transverse shaft 72, which is supported on carriage 12 by brackets 73. The lower end of the brackets have arms 74 which carry rollers 75, which rest on platen 10. Adjustably mounted on the table-bar 76 is a front paper-table 77, which has upstanding side guides 78 formed thereon mounted near the top of the front paper-table 77.

A web-severing knife 79 is soformed that the cutting edge 80 is positioned close to the table surface, while the rear edge 81 1s raised from the table surface to facilitate the insertionrof the work-sheet beneath the knife.

Mounted on the carriage 12 1n front of platen 10 is a curved guide-finger 82, which,

when swung into operative position, prevents bulging or bowing of the work-sheet away from the yfront paper-table 7 7.

rlhe carriage 12 runs on rails 83 and. 84. The work-web 85, as shown in Figure 7, may have printed thereon a series of forms 86, separated from one another by lines of detachment 87. Blank lines for writing, designated as 88. 89vand 90, may be arranged as shown in Figure 7. n

In operation, the typist threads the leading edge of the work-web over the top rear table 23, between theside gages 63, which confine the edges of the work-web 85 beneath the retaining ears 66. The paper-gages 63 are set to register with the side guide 78 on the front paper-table 77, and thus a chute or race is formed which guides the web around the platen and trues the web to the printing line on the platen. The web. 85 is passed in the usual manner underneath and around the platen 10, and overthe feed-rolls 21 and 22, up in front Aof platen 10, and over the front of delivery-table 77 between the guides 78. It is inserted under the raised rear edge 81 and made to register with the cutting edge 8() of knife 79. The guide-finger 82 may be swung to its operative position in front of the work-web 85 lying upon the front papertable 77. The first writing line 88 of the first printed form 86 is now opposite the printing point. The first line 88 on the workform 86 is typed; then by operating the lefthand line-space lever 91 by means of fingerpiece 92, which projects forwardly from the carriage towards the operator, the carriage is given a return movement to the initial letteryspaceon the next printing line 89 of the same work-form 86. During the carriage-return movement, the line-space slide 14 and the actuating pawl 13 rotate the platen 10 and the work-form 86 to bring the writing line 89 opposite the printing point. The typist now types the matter on line89, which may be assumed to complete the typing operation for the first of the forms in the series 86.

In returning the carriage at this time to begin a new line of typing, said lever 42 releases the work-web 85 from the feed-rolls. The typist pushes lever 42 to the right until it strikes the right-hand stop-pin 57. This returns the carriage and also forces the feedrolls 21 and 22 away from platen 10, releasing the work-web 85. While still pressing lever 42 to the right, the typist grasps the leading edge of the work-web 85, and quickly and smoothly pulls or whisks the web forward in the guiding chute until the line of detachment 87 between the first and sceond forms 86 is in register with the cutting edge 80, thus completing the jump of the web to new typing position.

After releasing lever 42 and thereby restoring the feed-rolls, the typed or completed form' 86 is severed from the work-web 85.

sweeping movement of the hand toreturn the carriage for a new line at a. marginal stop position, simultaneously cast off the feed-rolls to release the web, and hold the carriage rigid against the marginal stop during the interval of readjusting the web to bring a new work-web-section to the printing position.

Skilful operators may advance the web with the left hand alone, during the return traveling of the carriage. l

Moreover this construction favors accurate advance of the web throughout its entire length, inasmuch as the frequent casting off of the feed-rolls permits the web to be frequently re-re istered or straightened out while loose, this being done by the aid of the chute or race, and hence the web feeds true from beginning to end of the web, which would not be the case if the feedrolls rey words, inaccuracies of feed-rolls and platen Cri tend to cause the web to swerve to one side or the other, resulting after awhile in a great lateral displacement or sidewise slant- `ing of the web, which would be uncontrolreturning the carriage to begin a new line of typing, means connected to said handle to release said rolls, and means for releasing said rolls independently ing handle.

2. In a typewriting machine, in .combination, a revoluble platen, a tarriage, including a platen-shifting structure, releasable means to feed' a work-web faround with the platen and mounted on said platen-shifting structure to be'shifted therewith, and means invcluding a handle mounted on a relatively stationary part of the carriage to release the work-web from the feeding means, so that the web may be advanced quickly and smoothly from typing position through-the machine by pulling on the leading edge'of said workweb, said control member being connected to the releasable means so as not to interfere with the platen-shifting operation.

3. In a typewriting machine, in combina-y tion, a revoluble platen,

mechanism for nora work-piece around with the mally feeding a to positively hold the mechaplaten, means nism out of normal Operation, an attachment to temporarily control said means to release the feeding of the work-piece, and an interconnection between said means and the attachment for allowing the former to be operated without affecting the latter.

4. In a typwriting machine, in combination, a revoluble platen, feed-rolls riding 'upon the platen to `move a Work-piece therewith, a feed-roll-release to displace and to positively hold the feed-rolls out'of contact with the. means including a lever to operate the platen, release, an attachment to temporarily control said release including an operating arm, and a loose connection between said means and the attachment for allowing the lever to operate the release without moving the attachment-arm. 1

5. In a typewriting machine, 1n combination, means to advance a series of sheets or sections composing a `Work-piece through the` machine, consisting of a revoluble platen and feed-rolls between and by which said work- .piece is fed, a carriage-frame on which the feedingrmeans are mounted, n ieans to release the work-piece from the feeding means, and

of said carriage-return-- a supplementary means, consisting of an arm conveniently located on the carriageframe to swing in a carriage-return direction, and connecting means between the arm and said feeding means through which the platen and the feed-rolls can be independently and temporarily separated so that the work-piece, by pulling on the leading edge thereof, may be advanced quickly and smoothly from typing position through the machine, and the feed-rolls automatically restored to operative position when said arm is released.

6. In a typewriting machine, in combination, means to advance a series of sheets or sections composing a work-piece through the machine, consisting of a revoluble platen and feed-rolls between and by which saidworkpiece is fed, a carriage including a displaceable structure onwhich the platen and feedrolls are mounted for case shifting, means' to release the work-piece from the feeding means, and a supplementary means, consisting of an arm conveniently located on a relatively ixed part of the carriage, and a connecting means between the arm and said feeding means mounted on the displaceable structure through which the platen andfeed-rolls can be temporarily separated so that the work-piece, by pulling on the leading edge thereof, may be advanced quickly and smoothly from typing position through the machine, said arm and connecting means arranged not to interfere with the platen case-shifting movement.v

7. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a carriage and a rotatable platen, feedrolls co-operative with the platen to 'feed a work-web, a cam-shaft to vibrate the rolls between operative and inoperative positions,

means to rock\'he cam-shaft to lock the rolls in an inoperative position, and other means to rock the cam-shaft without locking the rolls and simultaneously return the carriage for a new line.

8. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a carriage, a rotatable platen, feedlll) rolls co-operative with'he platen to feed a work-web, a cam-shaft tl cast off all the feedrolls, a crank-arm on the shaft, a link connected to the crank-arm, manually-operable means connected to the link to cast o' and lock the rolls, and other means connected to the link .to cast off the rolls and simultaneously return the carria e foranew line.

9. In a front-stri e typewriting machine,

the combination with a revoluble platen and a carriage therefor, of feed rolls to guide a 4Work-Web upon the platen, a rock shaft for releasing said, rolls, said rock shafthaving a crank arm, a link connected to said crank arm, and a handle connected to said link 'and movable independently ofthe carriage in carria e-return direction to release saidV rolls during such independent movement.

JESSE A. B. SMITH. 

